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Connection errors

Connection issues are the most common problems when setting up shopMaster. Here’s how to diagnose and fix them.

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”Login failed for user”

Error message: 
Login failed for user 'username'
Cause: Invalid credentials or insufficient permissions.
1

Verify credentials

Double-check your username and password in the Settings page. SQL Server usernames are case-sensitive.
2

Check SQL Server authentication mode

SQL Server must be configured for SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode (mixed mode).To check:
  1. Open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
  2. Right-click your server instance → Properties
  3. Go to Security page
  4. Ensure “SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode” is selected
  5. Restart SQL Server service if you changed this setting
3

Verify user exists

Run this query in SSMS:
SELECT name, type_desc, create_date
FROM sys.server_principals
WHERE name = 'your_username';
If no results, the user doesn’t exist. Create it:
CREATE LOGIN your_username WITH PASSWORD = 'YourPassword123!';
4

Grant database access

The user needs access to your specific database:
USE ProductsDB;
CREATE USER your_username FOR LOGIN your_username;
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON dbo.Products TO your_username;

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“Cannot open database requested by the login”

Error message: 
Cannot open database "DatabaseName" requested by the login. The login failed.
Cause: The database doesn’t exist, or the user doesn’t have access.
Database names are case-sensitive on some SQL Server configurations.Check existing databases:
SELECT name FROM sys.databases ORDER BY name;
Make sure the database name in shopMaster Settings matches exactly.
The login exists but doesn’t have a user in the database:
USE YourDatabaseName;
GO
CREATE USER your_username FOR LOGIN your_username;
GO
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON dbo.YourTableName TO your_username;
GO
The database might be offline or in recovery mode:
SELECT name, state_desc FROM sys.databases;
If not “ONLINE”, you need to bring it online:
ALTER DATABASE YourDatabaseName SET ONLINE;

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“Named Pipes Provider: Could not open a connection to SQL Server”

Error message: 
[Named Pipes Provider] Could not open a connection to SQL Server [53]
Cause: SQL Server is not running, not accessible, or server name is incorrect.
1

Verify SQL Server is running

Windows Services:
  1. Press Win + R, type services.msc
  2. Look for “SQL Server (INSTANCENAME)”
  3. Ensure Status is “Running”
  4. If stopped, right-click → Start
Or use PowerShell:
Get-Service -Name "MSSQL$*"
2

Check server name format

For named instances:
  • Use format: COMPUTERNAME\INSTANCENAME
  • Example: DESKTOP-ABC123\SQLEXPRESS
For default instances:
  • Use: localhost or . or computer name
Find your instance name:
Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server' -Name InstalledInstances
3

Enable TCP/IP protocol

SQL Server might not be accepting TCP/IP connections:
  1. Open SQL Server Configuration Manager
  2. Navigate to SQL Server Network Configuration → Protocols for [INSTANCE]
  3. Right-click TCP/IP → Enable
  4. Restart SQL Server service
4

Check firewall settings

Windows Firewall might be blocking SQL Server:Allow SQL Server through firewall:
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "SQL Server" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 1433 -Action Allow
For named instances (uses dynamic ports):
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "SQL Browser" -Direction Inbound -Protocol UDP -LocalPort 1434 -Action Allow

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“ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server not found”

Error message: 
Data source name not found and no default driver specified
or 
[Microsoft][ODBC Driver Manager] Data source name not found
Cause: ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server is not installed.
1

Download the driver

Visit Microsoft’s official download page and download ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server.
2

Install the driver

Run the installer and follow the prompts. No special configuration needed.
3

Verify installation

Open ODBC Data Sources (search in Start menu) and check the Drivers tab for “ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server”.
4

Restart shopMaster

Close and reopen shopMaster, then test your connection again.
If you have ODBC Driver 18 but not 17, you’ll need to install Driver 17 specifically. shopMaster is configured to use Driver 17.

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Sync errors

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”User Session expired please reconfigure”

When it appears: During automatic sync or manual sync attempts. Cause: Your Digible access token has expired (tokens typically last 24 hours). Solution:
1

Go to Settings

Click the Settings button in the sidebar.
2

Re-enter Digible credentials

Enter your Digible email and password (they should still be filled in).
3

Click 'Configure'

This will:
  • Request a new access token from Digible
  • Update your .env file
  • Resume sync operations
The token expiration check happens in app/helper.py:243. shopMaster decodes the JWT token and compares the expiration timestamp with the current time.

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”Not connected” during sync

Error in console: 
Not connected
Cause: No internet connection detected. How it works: shopMaster checks internet connectivity before syncing by making a request to https://www.google.com/ (see app/check_connection.py:3). Solutions:
  • Verify you can browse websites
  • Check if your firewall is blocking shopMaster
  • Try pinging google.com from Command Prompt: 
    ping google.com
If you’re behind a corporate proxy, shopMaster’s requests might be blocked. You may need to configure proxy settings in your environment.
Ensure your firewall allows connections to:
  • https://api.digible.one
  • https://www.google.com (for connectivity check)

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Sync runs but changes aren’t appearing

Symptom: Sync shows “successful” but product changes don’t appear in Digible.
1

Check the ChangeLog table

Open SSMS and query:
SELECT * FROM ChangeLog ORDER BY ChangeDateTime DESC;
  • If empty: Triggers aren’t firing (see below)
  • If populated: Changes are logged but not syncing
2

Verify triggers exist

SELECT name, is_disabled
FROM sys.triggers
WHERE parent_id = OBJECT_ID('dbo.YourTableName');
You should see three triggers:
  • trgAfterInsert
  • trgAfterUpdate
  • trgAfterDelete
If is_disabled = 1, enable them:
ENABLE TRIGGER trgAfterInsert ON dbo.YourTableName;
ENABLE TRIGGER trgAfterUpdate ON dbo.YourTableName;
ENABLE TRIGGER trgAfterDelete ON dbo.YourTableName;
3

Test trigger manually

Make a test change:
UPDATE dbo.YourTableName
SET SellPrice = SellPrice + 0.01
WHERE ProductID = 'TEST001';

-- Check if it logged
SELECT * FROM ChangeLog WHERE ProductID = 'TEST001';
4

Check Digible API response

Look at the shopMaster console output during sync. You should see:
Response status code: 200
Response content: {...}
If status code is not 200, check the error message.

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”Error: Invalid column name”

Error message: 
Error: Invalid column name 'ProductID'
Cause: Your product table has different column names than expected. Required columns:
  • ProductID - VARCHAR(25)
  • ProductName - VARCHAR(75)
  • SellPrice - NUMERIC(18, 2)
  • QrCode - VARCHAR(100)
  • Status - INT
Solution: 
EXEC sp_rename 'YourTable.OldColumnName', 'ProductID', 'COLUMN';
EXEC sp_rename 'YourTable.OldProductName', 'ProductName', 'COLUMN';
-- Repeat for each column
Renaming columns may break other applications using this database. Test thoroughly.
CREATE VIEW Products AS
SELECT 
    YourProductIDColumn AS ProductID,
    YourProductNameColumn AS ProductName,
    YourPriceColumn AS SellPrice,
    YourQRColumn AS QrCode,
    YourStatusColumn AS Status
FROM YourActualTable;
Then use Products as your table name in shopMaster Settings.

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Configuration errors

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”Permission denied” when creating triggers

Error message: 
Error: CREATE TRIGGER permission denied
Cause: Your SQL Server user doesn’t have permission to create triggers. Solution: 
-- Grant permission to create triggers
USE YourDatabaseName;
GO
GRANT ALTER ON SCHEMA::dbo TO your_username;
GO

-- Or grant more comprehensive permissions
GRANT CREATE TABLE TO your_username;
GRANT CREATE PROCEDURE TO your_username;
If you don’t have administrator access, ask your DBA to run the Configure step with an admin account, then switch back to your regular account for syncing.

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ChangeLog table already exists with different structure

Symptom: Configuration fails or triggers don’t work correctly. Solution:
1

Backup existing ChangeLog (if needed)

SELECT * INTO ChangeLog_Backup FROM ChangeLog;
2

Drop existing objects

-- Drop triggers
DROP TRIGGER IF EXISTS trgAfterInsert;
DROP TRIGGER IF EXISTS trgAfterUpdate;
DROP TRIGGER IF EXISTS trgAfterDelete;

-- Drop table
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS ChangeLog;
3

Re-run Configure in shopMaster

Go to Settings and click Configure to recreate everything with the correct structure.

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Application errors

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shopMaster won’t start

Symptom: Application crashes immediately or shows error dialog.
shopMaster requires a .env file in the same directory as the executable.Solution: Run shopMaster, go to Settings, and complete the configuration. This creates the .env file.
If the .env file is corrupted, delete it and reconfigure:
  1. Close shopMaster
  2. Delete the .env file
  3. Start shopMaster
  4. Complete Settings configuration
If you’re running from source, ensure you have all dependencies:
pip install -r requirements.txt
Required packages:
  • sqlalchemy
  • pyodbc
  • python-dotenv
  • pyjwt
  • requests
  • tkinter (usually included with Python)

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“Sync task scheduled” but nothing happens

Symptom: You click “Start Sync task” and see the message, but no syncs occur. Cause: The background scheduler thread is running, but sync conditions aren’t met. Checklist:
1

Ensure you've configured

You must click Configure in Settings before syncing works.
2

Check token validity

If your Digible token expired, automatic sync silently fails. Check the console for “User Session expired” messages.
3

Verify internet connection

The sync only runs when is_connected() returns True.
4

Check for database changes

The ChangeLog table must have entries for sync to send anything:
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM ChangeLog WHERE ChangeType IN ('INSERT', 'UPDATE');
The scheduled sync runs every 2 minutes (see main.py:38). Wait at least 2 minutes after clicking “Start Sync task” before troubleshooting.

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Performance issues

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Slow sync with large databases

Symptom: Sync takes a very long time or times out. Cause: Large batch sizes or network latency. Current behavior:
  • Batch size: 200 products per request (see app/helper.py:141)
  • All products are loaded into memory before sending
Solutions:
The Upload Products button in Settings sends your entire product catalog in batches of 200. Use this for the initial sync instead of waiting for individual changes.
If you’re experiencing timeouts, you may need to modify the batch size in the source code.
This requires rebuilding the application from source.
Add an index to speed up sync queries:
CREATE INDEX IX_ChangeLog_ChangeType 
ON ChangeLog(ChangeType, ChangeDateTime);

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High CPU usage

Symptom: shopMaster uses excessive CPU continuously. Cause: The schedule check loop runs every 10 seconds (see main.py:32). This is normal behavior. The application uses minimal CPU most of the time, with brief spikes during:
  • Database queries
  • API requests
  • GUI updates
If CPU usage is consistently high (>10%), check:
  1. SQL Server isn’t under heavy load
  2. No errors in the console output
  3. Network connectivity is stable

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Getting help

If you’ve tried these solutions and still have issues:
1

Check console output

shopMaster prints detailed logs to the console. Look for error messages and stack traces.
2

Test components individually

  • Test SQL Server connection in SSMS
  • Test Digible login credentials in browser
  • Verify internet connectivity
3

Gather diagnostic information

Before contacting support, collect:
  • Error messages (exact text)
  • SQL Server version: SELECT @@VERSION
  • ODBC driver version
  • shopMaster version
  • Relevant console output
4

Contact Digible support

Reach out to Digible support with your diagnostic information for personalized assistance.
Most issues are related to SQL Server permissions or network connectivity. Start troubleshooting there before investigating application-specific issues.

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